Category Archives: Christian Life

Ephesians 5:19

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“…addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.”

Last time we talked about what it means to be filled with the Spirit. But Paul’s sentence doesn’t end at the end of verse 18.

Beginning in verse 19 he begins to explain some of the natural results of being filled with the Spirit. First, he addresses speaking. He says we will be speaking to one another. How will we speak to one another? In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

So, I have a question. Is he saying that since we have been filled with the Spirit, as a result we will sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to one another during the 20 minute song time in one of our worship gatherings? I don’t think so.

In the first place, he says speaking, not singing. Second, the speaking is a continuous sort of action used as an adjective. So people who have been filled with the Spirit will be speaking-to-one-another-in-psalms kind of people. I need to ask myself if I’m that kind of person.

Recently I was teaching on the book of Malachi, which in 3:16 says,   “Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.”

When people speak to one another about the things of God, He listens, and, according to Malachi, he makes a note of it in His book.

Would that we could be the kind of people that would have psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs on our minds so that we could and would share these with one another often as we speak to each other.

Also in verse 19, he writes that we should be singing and making melody to the Lord with or in our hearts. As the Spirit fills us moment by moment, there will be a resulting song that arises in our hearts. Words from the Psalms will come to mind as will the lyrics of other godly hymns and spiritual songs that form the basis of much of our Christian meditation. Let me emphasize that this is a result of the filling of the Spirit, not a stand-alone command. The Spirit’s presence in our lives produces fruit, and this kind of speaking and singing is one of those fruits.

Battle Plan – Strategy 4 – Control the Body

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Strategy 4: I have taken control of my body and mind, keeping them in subjection.

Consider the following passages of Scripture:

1 Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Romans 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

1 Peter 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.

In the Christian life we are charged with responsibility to actively pursue the battle for our minds and bodies. We have the promise of God that as we work, He works (Philippians 2:13).

He provides the strength and power to do what needs to be done. In these passages we see Paul’s determination to bring his body into subjection. Our bodies should not rule over us and dictate what we do. Our body has its desires for food, pleasure, and sex, but is not to set the agenda. Paul tells us in Romans 6:12 that we should not allow sin to reign in our mortal body. It’s our responsibility to set the terms for what our body does.

Even the thoughts of our mind are to be brought under control and “into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” That’s not an easy proposition, but nevertheless, is it not impossible because of the victory Christ has already won for us.

Priority Goal 4: Today, I will take control of my body and mind by the power of the Spirit of God at work within me. I will keep my body and mind under subjection to the will of God.

Ephesians 5:18

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“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”

We are now into Chapter 5, verse 18. Just as in some of the previous passages, Paul writes and tells us to avoid something. But it never stops there. When there are things to avoid, there are things to replace it with.

So, in verse 18 we are told not to get drunk with wine, but …. Although the drinking of wine is not prohibited in Scripture, being drunk is prohibited. God never permits our losing our self control, turning that control over to the influence of some substance.

Rather, we are to be filled with the Spirit. We are to be under the influence and control of the Spirit, instead of wine or any other substance.

There are several characteristics of this word ‘filled’ that we need to think about. First, it is an imperative. That means it is a command. We are told to do something. Paul is the one writing, but because he is writing under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, we must respond as though it were God speaking directly to us personally.

Second, it is a passive verb. That means we are not the actor. Something or someone else is the actor and we are on the receiving end of that action. The action here is the filling of the Spirit. “Be filled with the Spirit.”

If we are not the actor, how can this be a command? I assume it means that we are to allow or to be open in some way for the action to take place. So what I think is that God is telling us that we need to allow, or open ourselves up to being filled or controlled by the Spirit of God, rather than being controlled by wine.

Suppose when you were a kid, your dad would have told you that your brother needs to practice his football passing skills. He asks you to go out and be the receiver for him for awhile.

While this is kind of a simple example, it shows that you can be directed to go and be on the receiving end of some action over and over for a period of time. To be a good receiver for your brother you have to be alert and prepared to receive the football.

Third, the word is in the present tense. Present tense means now, today. Also, in Greek, the present tense is a continuing action. Therefore, we could think of the command this way: Continually allow yourself, or open yourself up to, being filled with the Spirit, moment by moment, and day by day.

When you go out to be a receiver for your brother, you know that the intention is that you receive the pass more than just one time.

How can we do this? We have busy lives and our minds are in hundreds of different places thinking about things and making decisions all day long.

I think we need to be sure we are having regular times of prayer each day, as well as memorizing and meditating on the Scriptures. If we do this on a regular basis, we will then have the foundational and fundamental mindset that is directed toward God and spiritual things.

If this is our pattern, then, I think, we will be better equipped to yield moment by moment to the Spirit’s filling and control.

Battle Plan – Strategy 3 – Sin and Satan Defeated

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Strategy 3 I am reminding myself of the fact that sin and the devil are defeated and God will not allow me to be tempted above what I am able.

These truths are not designed to make us complacent. They are given to us by God to strengthen our resolve and assure us that victory is possible on a daily basis.

Meditate on these passages of Scripture:

Hebrews 2:14-15 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He (Jesus) Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Colossians 2:14–15 Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Romans 6:6, 14 Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

From these passages we can see that sin and Satan have been defeated. God is actively engaged in preventing us from being tempted more than we are able to deal with. The power of sin has been broken. It might not feel that way, but the Bible tells us that this is the truth, and so by faith we are to believe it and claim it to be true and to respond accordingly as we face the various temptations that come our way.

Priority Goal 3: Today I will claim the fact that sin and the devil have been defeated and that the power they claim to hold over me is a fraud. God has taken away their power and authority, and I am able to overcome whatever temptation is coming my way through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Battle Plan – Strategy 2 – The Scriptures

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Strategy 2.  I am renewing my mind actively and regularly by reading, memorizing and meditating on Scripture. 

In each of these strategies I put the statement as an affirmative statement of fact. That helps us focus on what the goal is. It is a true or false statement. Within our own hearts we know whether the statement is true for us or not.  Is this true: I am renewing my mind actively and regularly by reading, memorizing and meditating on Scripture.

Here we have another essential personal discipline that gets overlooked all too often. We are constantly looking for the secret of this or that as though there were hidden methods for being successful in the Christian life. There are no secrets. It’s all right there out in the open. We just don’t do it.

Romans12:2: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

It’s important to be renewing our minds. God says that this is the way that transformation takes place. And the Christian method of renewing the mind is to spend time reading, memorizing and meditating on Scripture. There is no shortcut. Consider these passages:

Psalm 1:1-3:  Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. (Emphasis mine.) Now when you read the word “prosper,” don’t think about the American definition of prosperity. Prosperity here is success in the eyes of God. He is focused on spiritual growth and Christ-likeness as His goals.

It’s interesting to note that in verse 4, the Psalmist says that the ungodly are not like this. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Am I like this?” If not, I am putting myself into the category of the ungodly. Is that where I want to be?

Joshua 1:8: This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Emphasis mine)

Psalm 119:11: Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

Take some time every day to be in the Scriptures. Read a portion and spend some time thinking deeply about it.  Begin a Scripture memory plan. Memorize one verse a week or one every other week. Write the verse on a 3×5 card, or use a phone app, and review it every day until you have it learned. Then go on to another.

If these activities are not an important aspect of your life, you cannot expect to have victory over sin and the temptations you may be facing. Don’t look for other solutions. Spending time in prayer and in the Word is foundational to victory.

Priority Goal 2: I am going to spend time each day reading and meditating on the Word of God.

If this is your goal, take a moment right now and determine where in your schedule you will put this important activity. What scripture passage will you begin to read today? Find a notebook where you can jot down questions and thoughts that come to mind as you meditate. Do this now.

Ephesians 5:15-17

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“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Paul begins verse 15 telling us to be careful therefore. Therefore what? We are not to take part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them to the light. Let Christ shine on us. Walk in the light as He is in the light.

Therefore..

Therefore do not be unwise. He doesn’t use the word ‘moronic’ here, but unwise. Being unwise is foolish, but it has a different aspect to it. It emphasizes that there is a wise way to live life, and the warning here is to choose that wise way rather than avoiding it.

So, we are to live as wise people, making the best use of time. Literally it means to buy back the time, to ransom it back to freedom, to noble and godly purposes. We live in evil days. The days have always been evil. But we are to be alert and wise about the way we live. We are to be deliberate about how we use our time. Don’t just fritter it away. Make the best use of it.

Therefore. Because of that admonition to be careful, God tells us not to be foolish or unthinking. Instead, we need to understand what the will of the Lord is. That means we need to spend time learning more about the Lord Jesus, and we need to spend time getting to know Him, i.e., reading His word, meditating on it, and praying. As we spend significant blocks of time in this way, we will understand more and more about what the will of the Lord is. In turn, we will grow in our ability to buy back our time to make it an important tool in living for God.

Battle Plan Series – Strategy 1 – Prayer

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Strategy 1  My prayer life is active and effective.

In each of these strategies, I put the strategy as an affirmative statement of fact. That helps us focus on what the goal is. It is a true or false statement. Within our own hearts we know whether the statement is true for us or not.  Is this true for you:  My prayer life is active and effective?

Every Christian man should have an active and effective prayer life. James 5:16 says:  “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

At the conclusion on the passage in Ephesians where Paul discusses the Christian armor, he writes, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”  Ephesians 6:18

The Bible speaks over and over about the importance of prayer and yet praying is a very difficult thing for us. Our lives are busy, and taking the time to pray does not seem to us to be as important as God makes it out to be. And yet it is probably the core of our relationship with Christ along with the reading of His Word.

So if we are struggling with temptation, let’s not look to a lot of phony remedies and psychological tricks. Let’s invest the time it takes to really get to know God by spending some quality time with Him in prayer.

Battle Plan Series – Intro – Part 2

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Last time we asked the question, , “Do I really want to pursue righteousness and holiness, and count everything loss in order to know Christ and the power of His resurrection in my life?” Do I really want this? Am I willing to work hard, suffer and sweat to gain it?

This is not a trite question. You shouldn’t just read it and go on. In order to help us think about this, I’d like to look at several passages of Scripture.

The Bible speaks about fleeing some things and pursuing others. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”  One of the things that should be pursued is holiness. To pursue means to chase down or chase after. You’ve seen the police chases. Several squad cars are seen pursuing a car speeding to get away. The point is, they are trying to catch the person. They are not just following along after it like they would be during non-chase normal traffic situations.  So we are to chase down holiness, which the writer says we need if we want to see the Lord. Do you have the desire to see the Lord? Do you have the desire to chase holiness? Are you chasing it?

1 Timothy 6:11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

There are things to flee, but in this case I’m focusing on the pursuit. Here we are told to pursue several traits. Look these over and ask yourself, “Am I chasing these things?” Look at each one of these traits one at a time.  Do you have a desire chase them? Are you willing to ask God for the desire to chase them? Do you want to chase righteousness? Godliness? Faith? Love? Patience? Gentleness?

2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Am I fleeing and do I desire to flee youthful lusts? Older people can have youthful lusts. Sex is certainly one of these, but young people also have other inordinate desires for prestige, acceptance, power, recklessness, etc. Sometimes as we get older, these lusts don’t disappear. We need to run away from these lusts with as much energy as we can. And here again we are to pursue righteousness and other traits. So if you can picture this, we are to be running away from some things in hot pursuit of other things. This is not a lazy afternoon walk. This is a chase. Paul says he beats his body to keep it under control and in subjection to his mind (1 Corinthians 9:27). The author of Hebrews challenges us by saying that we haven’t resisted to bloodshed in our fight against sin (Hebrews 12:4).

And from Philippians 3:8-14 we learn that, like Paul, we should count things that are normally thought of as gain, we should count them loss. Keeping those things would be a negative. The reason is because of the excellence of Christ. Paul wanted to gain Christ. He described his effort as “pressing for the mark.”  He was like a runner stretching out to be the first person across the line. That is the kind of effort he was making in order to know Christ better and to be found in Him.

Before we go on to any of the strategies that I will outline for us, each one of us needs to ask ourselves the question: Do I really want this?  Do I want to pursue righteousness and holiness?  Do I really want Christ above all things? If the answer is “no” or if the answer is “I don’t think I really care,” or if the answer is a shrug of the shoulders, then there’s no point in going on.

Next time we’ll begin to look at some of the strategies in detail.

Battle Plan Series – Intro – part 1

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Every day we are confronted with temptations that attempt to distract us from our primary focus of service and obedience to Christ. These temptations often derail our attempts to live a godly life. Every day we are engaged in a battle to defeat these temptations and to stay the course. What I hope to do in this series is to review some of what the Bible teaches as to methods and strategies we can use to fight successfully. I plan to provide you with 10 or 11 specific statements that you should be able to make about yourself and about your spiritual life. These will be supported with passages of Scripture to help give you a strong foundation for those statements. If these statements are true of you, you will be in a better position for success in this battle against sin, lust, and temptation. If the statements are not true of you, it should provide motivation and a goal that you can work on in order to improve areas of weakness.

You can download the Battle Plan Chart here.

The first thing we need to realize is that this battle is universal among Christians. As you read this material you are going to be tempted to think that this is a battle for someone else. Often, when we speak of lusts, as we will in the following section, people immediately focus on sexual lust, and if that doesn’t happen to be your problem, you might stop reading thinking that you have everything under control. That is a dangerous position to be in because if you are not aware of a battle for your heart and soul, the devil has you right where he wants you. But as soon as you realize that this applies to you just as much as anyone else, and as soon as you take up arms to defeat your own lusts, you will find a battle greater than you ever imagined could exist.

The first step, then, is to ask ourselves the question: “Do I really want to pursue righteousness and holiness, and count everything loss in order to know Christ and the power of His resurrection in my life?”  In order to accurately answer this question, there are some truths we need to consider.

In 1 John 2:15-17 we read: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

There is a distinction between the things of the world and the things of God. These verses very clearly teach that it is not possible to love the world and love God at the same time. This means a decision is required. Do I really want to abandon the world for Christ?  This is an overarching decision, but it is also a decision that has to be made hundreds of times a day. Making the decision during a momentary temptation without having made it as a principle of your life will make the battle ultimately impossible to win. So, before you go any further you need to decide – Christ or the world.

In this passage, the Bible focuses on lust.  Lust is a strong desire that is excessive to the point of being sinful. In this passage we have three components given for worldliness – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. We don’t have time to go into each one in detail, but if you think about it you will realize that many of the things we do and decisions we make are made based on these lusts. We covet what we see other people have. We lust for sex or excitement or other flesh-based pleasures. We desire to have people look up to us as someone important or powerful or contented.  All of these temptations come from the world and not from God.

In James 1:14-15 we read this:  But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Here’s the issue then. The world and Satan provide attractions that feed the lusts that John referred to.  But our temptations come from within us, from our own lusts or desires and we are drawn away by them. Everybody has their own set of personalized lusts. Because of them, we are pulled in a wrong direction. The desires come from deep within us. They are part of our sin nature, our fallenness, our brokenness. As these desires are conceived and gestate within us they give birth to sin. Sin is a thought or deed that is not within the will and character of God. These sins begin to grow and then, as James writes, they bring forth death. The Bible teaches that sin has wages and those wages are death.

A Christian, having been born again and now a child of God, has a new desire in competition with the old tendency, and therein lies the conflict. Paul writes it this way in Galatians 5:17 – For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

So this leads us back now to the first point in what I’m calling Battle Strategies for the war on lust and sin. The first step is to ask ourselves, “Do I really want to pursue righteousness and holiness, and count everything loss in order to know Christ and the power of His resurrection in my life?” Do I really want this? Am I willing to work hard, suffer and sweat to gain it?

We’ll follow up with part 2 next time.

Ephesians 5:12-13

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Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,

It’s been more than a month since I’ve written in this commentary. Life gets busy and attempts to bring order and discipline in the midst of busy-ness is difficult.

In verse 11, Paul told us that we should not take part in the unfruitful works of darkness. But instead, we are to expose them, to let the light shine in. That is what expose means. He makes his point clear in verse 13. “When anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible.

It’s interesting to me that just as in the discussion about putting off certain things, Paul had added that not only should we put off, but we must put something on. Here in this passage, we should not partake in or even speak of the things they do in secret. But it’s not just a matter of avoiding. There is something to do. The unfruitful works of darkness should be exposed.

Verse 13 tells us that anything exposed by the light becomes visible. Rather than being done in secret, these things must be made visible. But it is a puzzle to me how to shed light on secret, unfruitful behaviors, without speaking about them. It seems as though speaking would be the only way to expose. But perhaps he is saying that speaking is necessary, but it is shameful at the same time. For me at least, this passage is going to take more meditation.

More on this passage next time.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:25 AM July 17, 2021.